In 2021, it is impossible to discuss the subject of reputation without looking at the impact of Covid19, and this is perhaps another key sign that an institution’s reputation cannot be solely attributable to rankings.

Rankings and reputation are entwined but reputation is about more than rankings. That was the key conclusion from a World 100-moderated session at the THE Arab Rankings Forum on 27 July. World 100 Director Louise Simpson discussed ‘Using Rankings to Enhance Reputation’ with a panel of experts from some of the biggest universities in the Arab region.

Ask someone on the street to name a prestigious university they will often name institutions with a long, rich history, established hundreds of years ago. But there are numerous institutions all over the world, founded much more recently, that are hot on the heels of those historical, elite universities. One of those universities is Aalto University, Finland, formed in just 2010.

World 100 Director Louise Simpson explored the origins and creative thinking behind the visual identity of Finland’s Aalto University during the THE Young University Summit, when she spoke to their president, Ilkka Niemelä.

Many things have had to adapt during the COVID19 pandemic. This was the case for our Reputation Academy, which had to move online for 2021

The World 100 research project for 2020/2021 will explore how universities have used the visibility of Covid-19 research to build profile.

World 100 members have again proved the link between reputation and the real-world impact of universities, achieving 4 of the top 10 places (and 9 of the top 20) in the latest THE Impact Rankings published on 21st April 2021.

Part 2 of our summary of Louise's session at THE Live US, looking a rebuilding public trust in universities. In this piece, we look at the conversation relating to people's trust in sources of news and information and how that relates to trust in universities, specifically during the pandemic.

On April 1st, World 100 Director Louise Simpson, hosted a panel of experts at THE Live US. The panel looked at rebuilding public trust in universities and featured Sue Cunningham, President and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and Nicky Old, Director for Communications and External Relations for Universities UK.

Social media is one of the most important aspects of a marketing and communications strategy as it represents a chance to reach a large percentage of your audience easily, repeatedly, and, if done right, cheaply. Despite this, it remains an under-developed part of most strategies, with leadership often overlooking its complexities and allocating insufficient time and resources to getting it right.

The advent of a new administration in Washington DC is reportedly already fuelling an increase in applications from international students to US universities . The so-called ‘Biden Bump’ may go some way to addressing the falls in American global recruitment seen over the last few years.

Day 4 of our World 100 Conference looked heavily at relationships; whether that be departmental relations, relations with government and other stakeholders, and how relationship building will manifest itself in the future.